Time Shift
By Ian K.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Yes-Season One and Two.
Disclaimer: I did not create Farscape, the universe of Farscape, or its characters. I merely borrowed them for this story, for which I will receive no monetary compensation. No infringement of copyright intended.
Time Frame: Can't go into detail. Starts in near future, but changes from there.
Summary: Aeryn is accidentally caught in an experiment gone wrong, and is shifted through time.
*
John and Aeryn could hear voices coming from within the room. Both stood at the ready, guns in hand, in preparation to kick in the door and rescue Chiana. D'Argo was just behind them in the hallway.
Once again, Chiana's tendency to "snurch" had gotten her into trouble. While on a commerce planet, the Nebari thief decided to follow a guy who she had seen with what looked like a fat currency bag hanging from his belt. The man was Sebacean in basic form, but his red skin coloration and green eyes told her that he was of a different species. She was not as much concerned about that as she was about seeing if she could steal his currency.
Eventually, the man turned into a side street, with Chiana following cautiously behind him. That was when everything went black for Chiana, who woke up to find herself in a strange laboratory with the man she was following standing over her. He intended to use her as a test subject in some experiment that he would only call temporal flux.
Meanwhile, John, Aeryn, and D'Argo had gotten worried when Chiana failed to show up after a while. They had Pilot locate her comm signal, which they used to track her to a basement type room in a small building. Now, the three stood ready to rescue their comrade from whatever trouble she was in now.
Aeryn looked at John and D'Argo. "Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three!"
Aeryn and John kicked in the door. They and D'Argo crashed into the lab with guns at the ready. Chiana's captor quickly hid behind the Nebari girl, who was strapped into some kind of machine.
John spoke first. "Okay, Dr. Jekyll! Let the girl go!"
"Not a chance. I need her to test the temporal flux, before I go in myself. Can't be too careful, after all. Quantum physics can be a tricky thing."
John considered for a moment, then a realization dawned on him. "Temporal flux...quantum physics, your talkin about time travel."
"Not time travel! Time shift would be a better term," replied the scientist. "And its mine. MINE!"
"I don't care what that machine does!" screamed D'Argo. "Let her go, or I will rip you apart!"
"NO!" replied the scientist. "You can have her when I am done! Not before!"
D'Argo had finally lost his patience, and took aim with his qualta blade rifle. Crichton saw him. "No, D'Argo, wait..."
Too late. D'Argo fired at Chiana's captor. The scientist had anticipated the shot, and was able to evade the blast. The shot struck the machine instead, which caused some kind energy surge to run through the machine.
"Frell!" shouted Aeryn. She and D'Argo immediately rushed to get Chiana out of the device. Aeryn untied Chiana's bonds, freeing the young Nebari and handing her over to D'Argo, while Crichton kept the scientist covered with his pistol. Just as Aeryn went to move away from the machine, and energy pulse from the machine grabbed Aeryn and enshrouded her in light.
"Aeryn!" screamed Crichton, as he rushed in to try and help his lover. D'Argo stopped him.
"No, John! You don't know what that machine will do to you."
"I have to help her, dammit! Let me go!"
Just then, the light released Aeryn, whose unconscious form fell to ground. John broke from D'Argo's now relaxed grip and rushed to her side.
Aeryn was unconscious. John checked her pulse and found that his love was alive, but her pulse was weak. "My God, Aeryn."
D'Argo activated his comm. "Zhaan, do you hear me. Get down here, quickly. Aeryn is hurt!"
**
Aeryn slowly opened her eyes, feeling slightly delirious. She took in her surroundings and found herself in her own bed in her quarters on Moya. Zhaan was sitting on a chair next to the bed, a small smile on her face upon seeing Aeryn awaken.
"Ah, good. You are awake, my dear," said Zhaan.
"What happened? How did I get here?"
"You lost consciousness. I had D'Argo carry you in here until you recovered. How do you feel?"
"Delirious, somehow. But, I'm starting to feel better. Where is John?"
"Who, Crichton? He is with D'Argo. Would you like to see him?"
"Yes, Zhaan, please."
"Very well." Zhaan activated her comm. "Crichton, can you come to Aeryn's quarters? She wants to see you."
"Um, yeah, sure. Be right there."
Zhaan deactivated her comm. "You should fully recover soon enough, Aeryn. Just give it time."
"What..." She stopped what she was going to say when Crichton entered the room. She smiled when she saw him. He smiled back, though rather cautiously, and spoke.
"Hi, Aeryn. How you feeling?"
"Come here," she said slyly. Crichton gave her a strange look, but slowly sat next to her on the bed. When he did, Aeryn brought his face close to hers. "You tell me, John." With that said, she kissed John passionately on the lips. Crichton seemed confused at the gesture and was slow to respond. Aeryn picked up on this and stopped the kiss. "John, what's the matter?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing, Aeryn?" he said out of breath.
Zhaan gave Aeryn a strange look. "Aeryn, are you feeling okay? Are you still delirious?"
"No, I don't think so. Why?"
John spoke next, rather nervously. "Well, Aeryn, its not everyday that you kiss me."
"What do you mean? I kiss you everyday. When we woke up in bed this morning..."
"Whoa, Aeryn, you must still be delirious. We did not wake up in...."
"John, what's going on?" asked Aeryn worriedly. "That machine. How is Chiana?"
Crichton looked at Zhaan. The Delvian shrugged her shoulders and replied. "Who is Chiana?"
"Who is..." said Aeryn, incredulously. "Chiana. Nebari thief. Gets herself into trouble. John calls her Pip. How can you not know Chiana?"
John spoke next. "Aeryn, I don't know this Chiana person either. Are you sure you're okay?" He looked at Zhaan. "Could it be a side effect of the heat delirium?"
"Wait," said Aeryn. "That machine caused me to go into heat delirium?"
"Aeryn, what machine?" replied Crichton. "Don't you remember? The Drakh, the big cock roaches. They took over the ship so the monarch could breed her offspring. They made it so hot..."
A look of confusion came over Aeryn's face. She looked at John and Zhaan. Its then that she noticed that Crichton was wearing his khaki pants and white t-shirt, clothing he had not worn in a long time. Zhaan seemed different as well. Aeryn then looked at her own attire. Instead of finding herself in her customary leather vest, she was wearing a black t-shirt and her Pleisar Uniform pants. She had not worn those in a cycle.
Aeryn was confused. "What is happening here?"she thought. She looked at John. "John, don't you remember the laboratory on the planet? Chiana was in the machine. D'Argo shot at her captor and missed and the machine..."
Crichton looked at her with confusion. Zhaan came over to Aeryn. "Perhaps you had better lie down..."
"NO! What is going on?" asked Aeryn desperately. "John, why are you in those clothes? Where is Chiana? Why are you talking about that incident with the Drakh? That happened over two cycles ago."
"No, Aeryn, it just happened a few hours, arns, ago," replied Crichton.
It was then that the realization of what really happened began to formulate in Aeryn's mind. In the laboratory, John and that scientist had been talking about something to do with... "Time travel," Aeryn whispered aloud to herself.
"What did you say?" asked Crichton with confusion.
Aeryn thought quickly. "John, tell me something. How long have we been aboard Moya?"
"What do you..."
"How long since you came through the wormhole, since we escaped from Crais?"
"I don't know, exactly. I'm still trying to get used to your time scale. Zhaan?"
"About a monen, Aeryn. Why?"
"A monen. That's not possible."
"What do you mean, Aeryn?" asked Crichton. "You said something about time travel."
"Yes. Look, you two may not believe me, but somehow...some way, I have traveled back in time. These events...coming aboard Moya, the Drakh, for me all happened over two cycles ago."
***
Crichton paced back and forth through the laboratory nervously while Zhaan examined Aeryn. He was scared. There was no telling what that machine had done to his lover. D'Argo was keeping an eye on the scientist, while Chiana stood nearby watching the whole proceedings. She approached John and spoke to him.
"Come on, take it easy..."
"Take it easy! Look, Chiana, she wouldn't be in this condition if it wasn't for you trying to pick pocket the mad doctor over there. So don't you dare tell me to 'take it easy'!"
"Look, I'm sorry..."
"Save it!" Crichton saw Zhaan motion Crichton over to the table where she was examining Aeryn. He left a stunned Chiana to get a progress report on Aeryn's condition.
"How is she, Zhaan?" he asked.
"Well, whatever was done, there seems to be no permanent damage. I want to do a more detailed examination when we get back to Moya, but I don't want to move her until she regains consciousness."
As if on cue, Aeryn did indeed begin to awaken. She opened her eyes and seemed to take in the scene around her. With a start, she sat bolt upright on the table and swung her legs off its side. Zhaan and John both moved to stop her from standing.
"Easy, Aeryn," said John soothingly. "Take it slowly."
"Where am I? What is this place?" she asked with agitation.
"Don't you remember, Aeryn?" replied Crichton. "The lab. You were caught in that machine...Aeryn. God, I thought you might have been hurt."
John leaned in to kiss Aeryn. She gave him a confused look, but soon realized what the human was trying to do. The ex-Peacekeeper reacted quickly, striking John across the jaw, knocking the startled human to the floor.
"What the frell do you think you are doing?!" said Aeryn with anger. "How dare you!"
John looked up at his lover, his lip bloodied and his mind filled with confusion and worry. "Aeryn, what is the matter with you?"
"I should be asking you that question. Where are we?" She looked around at the people who were in the room. "Who is that man on the floor, and that girl over there?"
The man was the scientist, the girl was Chiana. Zhaan looked at Chiana, then back at Aeryn with a startled look. "My dear, that's Chiana. You act as if you don't know her."
"I don't know who that girl is. Should I?"
D'Argo approached Aeryn. "She has only been aboard Moya for over a cycle. How could you not know her?"
"That's not possible, D'Argo," she replied with indignation. "I have only been aboard Moya for a monen."
Everyone looked at Aeryn with several degrees of shock on all of their faces. John was finally the one to speak. "What is the last thing you remember?"
"The Marauder commandoes were aboard Moya. You had that monarch creature turn up the heat on Moya to weaken them. Of course, it put me further into heat delirium."
"Wait, that is the last thing you remember?" asked Zhaan.
"Yes, of course. What else is there?"
"Aeryn," said John. "That happened two cycles ago."
Aeryn was startled, but laughed at the suggestion. "You are insane, human. That is not..."
"No he isn't, Aeryn," said D'Argo. "The encounter with the Drakh happened two cycles ago."
Chiana joined the conversation. "Zhaan, do you think that machine could have frelled up her brain or something?"
"I don't know. Its...possible."
Crichton stood completely still, running everything that had happened through his head. "Aeryn has no memory of the past two cycles," thought John. "She was caught in an energy surge in that machine. Dr. Jekyll over there mentioned something about...time shift."
It was then that Crichton realized what has happened to Aeryn. "Holy shit," he whispered.
The human marched over to the scientist tied up on the floor and yanked him to his feet. Holding him by the scruff of his collar, he said: "You said something about temporal flux, time shift. What is that machine supposed to do?"
"If you put me down, I will explain. Although your limited brains may not be able to comprehend the concept."
"Try me," replied Crichton, as he released the scientist.
The inventor began to speak. "My name is Jenon Klato. I have been working on my creation for 30 cycles. It is finally finished, and it appears to have worked."
"What does it do?" asked John impatiently.
"It has the capacity to bridge time periods, to allow for a person to shift from one time zone to another."
"You mean this Aeryn is actually from the past?" asked Zhaan.
"And our Aeryn is in the past?" chimed in D'Argo.
"Not exactly. You see, the bodies themselves can not be transferred. Rather, it is the life energy, the mind, that is shifted through time."
"You mean that the brain in this body is from the past?" asked Chiana.
"No, you little fool. Don't you even know the difference between the brain and the mind. The brain is an organic part of the body. The mind, girl. The mind is thought, memory, knowledge, all stored as energy. Biochemical in nature, yes, but still energy. This energy, like all energy, can be transferred."
"Yeah, we've been through that before," said John, remembering the incident with the Halosians and the mind swapping. "But how is it transferred through time?"
"This machine is able to tap into the temporal dimension of the universe. It opens a minute time warp in the fabric of time. It is just enough to allow for the transfer of energy. But it is only a warp of the temporal dimensions, not spatial dimensions."
"So that's why only the mind goes, not the body," said Crichton.
"Exactly."
"But why that particular point in time?" asked Crichton.
"Because the settings on the machine were set for temporal coordinates for a point in time exactly 2 cycles, 3 monens, and 8 solar days into the past."
"Why such an exact time?" continued Crichton.
"Personal reasons. It is not important. When the energy is transferred through time, it seeks out the brain host in that time period and switches minds with it, so to speak. It requires that the temporal coordinates be set for a point in time within the subject's lifetime, or the mind will have no host to go to and will become lost forever in time."
"Okay. So, how do we get her back?" asked John.
"I will have to examine the equipment to see the extent of the damage before I can answer. If I may be allowed to do so?"
Crichton nodded and allowed Jenon to get to work. John returned to the table where Aeryn was sitting and had been listening to the whole conversation. She did not understand it all, except the part about being in the future.
"Well," said John to Aeryn. "Looks like your return flight back to your time zone is gonna be delayed."
Aeryn just sat there, still shocked by the whole experience. The room went silent as they waited for Jenon to examine his machine.
****
Past:
"Aeryn, what you are saying does not make any sense," said Zhaan with concern. "You say that you have somehow traveled through time from the past. How is that possible?"
Aeryn looked at Crichton. "John, you know me. I'm no tech, but I did overhear a conversation between you...well, the you in the future, and the man who built the time machine. Something about quantum physics, temporal shift, time shift."
"Well," said Crichton after a few moments thought. "Quantum physics is the study of time travel. Temporal shift would refer to some kind of shift in the timeline. But Aeryn...I'm sorry, but that's crazy. You must be suffering some side effects from the heat delirium."
"I am not. Ugh, how do I prove to you..."A thought crossed her mind. She knew things that the Aeryn of this time did not know, things about the crew. That was the answer.
"Gather the crew in here," said Aeryn. "I will prove what I say."
Crichton and Zhaan looked at each other. Zhaan nodded her assent, and commed for D'Argo and Rygel. They both came in and were informed about Aeryn's claim to be from the future.
"You have gone completely fahrbot, Peacekeeper," said Rygel.
"Much as I hate to agree with HIS EMINENCE," said D'Argo sarcastically, " I think you are frelled in the head."
"All right, I'll prove it." She looked at Rygel. "Rygel, let's start with you. I know you were a prisoner on board the Zelbinion, and that you were tortured by Captain Durka."
Rygel was shocked at first, but laughed after a few moments. "Ha, nice try. You could have read that in some Peacekeeper record."
Aeryn looked at D'Argo. She hesitated, but went forward with what she was going to say. "D'Argo, I know about Lolann and Jothee."
D'Argo was startled, completely taken off guard at hearing Aeryn use his wife's and son's name. Shock changed to rage, and he lunged at Aeryn. Crichton and Zhaan were able to stop him gently, but he still raged with fury at Aeryn. "How dare you! How dare you use my wife and son!"
"I know all about it, D'Argo. I know how you were married to a Sebacean woman, how you conceived a son. I know about Macton, her brother, and what he did as well! That is not in any Peacekeeper file I would have access to. You will tell me about it. IN THE FUTURE!"
The entire room was shocked into silence. Zhaan looked at D'Argo, and hesitantly asked the question that was one everyone's mind. "D'Argo, is....is what she is saying...true?"
"Yes," said D'Argo rather softly. "There is no way she could have known. The Peacekeepers charged me with other crimes to cover up the truth. She is infantry. There is no way she could have known."
Aeryn then looked at Crichton. "John, I know many things about you. I know that you once wanted to marry a woman named Alex. I know that your mother died of a disease called cancer. I know that your father, before you left Earth, said to you that 'each of us has a chance to be our own kind of hero.' And that is just for starters."
Crichton looked at Aeryn and considered her words. There is know way that she could have known about those things, he has never told her about them. Yet. He looked into Aeryn's eyes and saw that she was telling him the truth. He became a believer.
"Holy..." said Crichton. "I believe her. Anyone else?"
D'Argo spoke first. "Yes."
"I still don't know," said Zhaan. "There could be a number of other explanations. But time travel? That is just so difficult to comprehend."
"I say your all fahrbot for even considering this," said Rygel. "I am going to get something to eat."
With that, the little Hynerian left the others in Aeryn's room. Aeryn was tired, emotionally drained. Plus, her physical body was still recovering from the heat delirium, so she was also physically drained. The crew left her to rest, and went to ponder the meaning on what had happened to the ex-Peacekeeper.
*****
Present:
"Don't you tell me that its not possible!" screamed Crichton.
"I'm afraid that it is true!" said Jenos Klato. "The time retrieval circuit is damaged. It was set to automatically shift the two minds after a one arn period. However, your frelling Luxan friend blasted the machine with his weapon. The retrieval setting has been lost. Without it, I can not retrieve your friend."
"There has to be a way!" said Crichton with frustration. "I refuse to accept that our Aeryn, my Aeryn, the Aeryn from this time is stuck in the past! We can't just give up. There has to be another way of getting Aeryn out of this bad episode of 'Quantum Leap' episode she had fallen into!"
"John, calm down..."said Chiana.
"To hell with you! If it hadn't been for you, Aeryn would not be in this mess!"
"John, recrimination is pointless at this point," said Zhaan.
"Well, I'm with Crichton," said Aeryn. "I refuse to accept that I have to stay here in the future. That would be like loosing two cycles of my life. I won't do that!"
"There has to be a way," said Crichton with frustration. "God, where is Al when you need him?"
"Who?" asked Aeryn.
"Never mind," replied Crichton.
*****
Past:
Aeryn stepped out of her quarters and decided to take a walk. As she made her ways through Moya's corridors, it finally sunk in with her completely the implications of what had happened.
"What if I am stuck here in the past?" she thought. "Will I have to relive the past two cycles over again? Can I change much of what has happened? Would I want to? I could change things so John doesn't even meet Scorpius, but...what else would that change? Ugh, this is more confusing than trying to figure out some of Crichton's Earth sayings."
She decided to go out to the terrace. As she stepped out onto the terrace, a strange thought came to her. "Funny, I ended up here before about this time. I wonder..."
As if on cue, John Crichton stepped onto the terrace, just as he did when Aeryn lived through this before. And the similarities did not end there.
"Hey," said John. "Didn't I meet you at a party once?"
Aeryn smiled, remembering the conversation they had before...when she lived this before. She decided to try and change where the conversation went from there. The ex-Peacekeeper turned and look at John Crichton, the man she loved in the future. In the past, well, their relationship was simpler in some ways, more difficult in others.
Crichton stared back at Aeryn for a few moments. He wanted to say something. Aeryn could tell, but the human hesitated. Finally, he decided to plunge forward into what he intended to say.
"Um, Aeryn. When I walked into your quarters, you...you...you..."
"Kissed you."
"Yes." The human shifted nervously as he thought of how to ask a very delicate question. "The Aeryn I know, the Aeryn of this time, would never have..."
"Yes, the Aeryn I was, am, whatever...the Aeryn you know would not have. But I am not that Aeryn," she said with a smile. "I am more, thanks to you."
"Well, that's...good. What about us? I mean, I gather that we are close in the future?"
Aeryn hesitated, but decided to be completely truthful. "Yes. You and I are...will be...lovers."
Crichton chuckled slightly. "Wow. If anyone had suggested that you...and I...I would have thought they were nuts. I mean, the hard nosed, kick ass Aeryn Sun and me, the deficient human. No way."
"Even at this time, I did not think it 100%, entirely, out of the question. Even at this point, I found you...interesting." Aeryn smiled at Crichton's reaction, as a slight blush filled his cheeks. She sighed for a moment as she saw him, the John Crichton she first met two cycles ago.
"Oh, John. I look at you now, and I see...John, there is a lot ahead for you. So many changes. Pain, grief, struggle. I look at you and I see the innocent John Crichton that disappeared so long ago."
"You make my future sound pretty bleak, Aeryn. Does Crais get me?"
"Not exactly. All I will say is that you have a long, hard path ahead. The only advice I can give you is to never give up, stay true to yourself. You will adapt. You always have done so. And, there is much happiness ahead for you. Friendship, achievement, and of course...love."
Crichton smiled at Aeryn, and raised his hand to her face. He lightly brushed her cheek with his hand, while she leaned into his palm with her cheek. "Aeryn, I can see how I could, definitely, love a woman like you. You are so beautiful."
They leaned in to kiss each other, but Crichton backed off. Aeryn was confused. "John, what's the matter?"
"You won't be kissing me. You would be kissing...him."
"Him...who?"
"Him. The Future Crichton. I'm just the ghost of Christmas past."
"He is you, John."
"No. He isn't me. He is a different me because he has two more years...cycles of life experience more than me. That 'long, hard path' you spoke about. I don't know how to return you to him, Aeryn. But hopefully you can return, and give him your love. Knowing him, I'm sure he would miss that love if he lost you."
With that, John Crichton turned on his heel and walked out of the terrace. Aeryn stood and gazed at his retreating form. "He is still John," she thought. "But he is a different John. I'm just the one who is the same. If I am stuck here, can we be more together...again?"
Aeryn Sun turned back towards the stars to ponder and dream of love lost...and possible love found.
******
Present:
John Crichton was sitting on the ground, staring in one direction. He was staring at the form of Aeryn Sun pacing up and down like a soldier on guard duty. She was frustrated, stuck 2 cycles into a future she knew nothing about. John could understand. After all, he was frustrated as well.
Looking at the Aeryn in front of him, he must constantly remind himself that she is not the same Aeryn he knows now, not the Aeryn who is his companion and lover. She is the Aeryn of two cycles ago: closed off, suspicious of everything, hard assed, never showing emotion. Yet, in some ways, this Aeryn, the one from the past, is somehow more vulnerable. The Aeryn he knows possesses the confidence of experience beyond the Peacekeeper ranks, and a personal identity all of her own making. This Aeryn has just lost the only life she ever knew. Now, she had seemed to loose the new life she was just beginning to carve out for herself.
Aeryn stopped pacing suddenly, and turned to face Crichton. "What the frell are you staring at?" asked Aeryn.
"Um, nothing. Sorry. Didn't mean to stare." Crichton got up and walked over to Aeryn. He knew this was not the same Aeryn, but she was still Aeryn Sun. John can't help but love and worry about her.
"How are you doing, Aeryn?"
"Fine, Crichton. Jenon Klato is still working. If he finds a way of getting me back, fine. If he doesn't, well...I will adapt."
"Just like that, adapt."
"Yes. I am a Peacekeeper. We can adapt better than any creature in the universe."
"Well, I don't know about Peacekeepers being able to adapt, but I do know that you sure can. But still...I can see you are frustrated. You have every right to be. Frell, you may have just lost two cycles of your life..."
"You don't know me, Crichton. You don't know what I am capable of."
"But I do know you, Aeryn. I've been shipmates with Aeryn Sun for two cycles, remember. I know quite a lot about you and what you are capable of."
Aeryn smiled a sarcastic smile. "I can have nothing to do with you, Crichton. You may think you know me, but...you can never understand me or my past."
Crichton considered for a moment what to do. He wanted to somehow get through to her that he did understand and that he did know her. He finally decided on one word.
"Velorek."
Aeryn looked at Crichton with pure shock. If she had been a slightly weaker person, she would have fainted. She tried to speak, but no sound escaped when she moved her lips. Finally, after several tries, she was able to utter one word.
"How?"
"It's a long story. Sufficed to say, you told me all about him and about how you felt about him. Don't you see. I DO know you, Aeryn Sun. Perhaps better than you know yourself."
"Crichton..." She hesitated to ask the question she wanted to, but decided she had to do it. She had to know. "Just how well do we know each other in this time?"
"Um, Aeryn..."
"Answer me."
"Aeryn, you and I are...lovers."
Aeryn smiled ever so slightly at the suggestion, the implication of what the human had just said. She didn't know exactly what to feel about this revelation from Crichton.
"Aeryn? You okay?" asked the concerned human.
"I let you get that close? I can't believe I will let you...I must truly be contaminated. To even consider giving myself to an alien man, no matter how Sebacean looking you are."
"Well, Aeryn. It was a slow process. We just slowly became closer and closer to each other. There were, um, setbacks...along the way. However, love conquers all, as they say." He concluded his words with a slight chuckle.
"Love," said Aeryn. "I don't even know that emotion."
"You will." John wanted to take Aeryn in his arms, to hold her and comfort her in her hour of confusion and struggle. But, Crichton knew that this Aeryn would never permit what his Aeryn would readily accept from him. Perhaps, in time...
"Crichton," said Jenon Klato. The voice of the alien scientist shook Crichton from his thoughts on Aeryn. John and Aeryn both looked at Klato and saw the defeated look on his face. "I'm sorry, but it is to no avail. The time retrieval circuitry itself can be repaired, but...we have lost the coordinates. They have been erased from the machine's memory. Without those, we would only be speculating about what time coordinates to make the retrieval from. We might end of shifting the mind of the Sebacean woman out of other time zones into wrong time zones...We just can not do it."
"Shifting to other time zones..."thought Crichton. An idea entered his head, one that he was surprised he hadn't thought of until then. "I have an idea," he said.
"I am willing to listen," said Jenon Klato.
"This is a time machine. Are the time shift circuits themselves still working?"
"Yes, they are undamaged. But..."
"Then shift me back in time to a point before the accident. I can go back and save Aeryn from the accident before it happens."
"That could do serious damage to the time line, Crichton. I don't know if we should..."
"Look, we have already shifted a woman from the present to the past, and vice versa. Aeryn may already be changing things in the past. This may be the only way to fix things. I would be the only one who would know what had happened if I stop the accident before it occurs. It will have never happened for the rest of you, or for the Aeryn from the past. Everything should return to normal."
D'Argo, Zhaan, and Chiana had all by now overheard Crichton's idea. They walked over and joined in on the conversation.
"John," said Zhaan. "What you are proposing involves considerable risk to you. You could become trapped in another time period as Aeryn is now."
"I have to do it, Zhaan," said Crichton, looking at Aeryn. "I have to try, for her."
Aeryn looked back at the human with deep emotion. She could not believe that he would risk all of that just for her. "Why would you do this, Crichton?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Because I love you."
Crichton leaned in and kissed Aeryn on the cheek. Much to Crichton's surprise, Aeryn did not pull away, but rather accepted the gesture. John then looked at Jenon Klato.
"Alright, I'm ready. What do we have to do?"
*******
Present:
"The machine is ready, Crichton," said Jenon Klato, as he finished making some final adjustments. "You may step in now."
"One microt," replied Crichton. He approached Chiana and put his arms on her shoulders. "Pip, um, I'm...sorry, very sorry for what I said to you."
"Hey, you were right, old man. If it wasn't for me..."
"Don't, Chiana. Its okay. Everything will be okay." Crichton turned and walked back to the machine. He stepped into the target zone for the time shift, and prepared himself for what was going to happen.
"Wish me luck, people," said Crichton.
"Good luck," said D'Argo.
"Goddess be with you," said Zhaan.
Crichton looked at Aeryn, who nodded a silent good luck to him. John returned the gesture, praying to God that this worked and that he would get his Aeryn back.
"Activating the time shift circuits, now," shouted Klato.
A bright light enveloped Crichton, just as it had done Aeryn when she shifted. From Crichton's perspective, he saw a bright flash of light that lasted momentarily. When began to get his bearings, he found himself standing between D'Argo and Aeryn, holding his pulse pistol.
"I don't care what that machine does!" screamed D'Argo. "Let her go, or I will rip you apart!"
"NO!" replied the scientist. "You can have her when I am done! Not before!"
It has worked. John was back at a point in time just before the accident. D'Argo was going to fire at any moment.
"D'Argo!" yelled Crichton. "Whatever you do, don't fire that gun."
The Luxan looked at Crichton with a strange expression. "How did you know..."
"Never mind. Just don't fire. Nobody fire. Trust me. Its...too dangerous. That machine is dangerous. No one fires!"
Aeryn and D'Argo looked at Crichton, then at each other. They nodded, and Aeryn said: "Alright, we won't fire. But what the frell..."
"I'll explain later," said Crichton. He turned his attention to the scientist now holding Chiana. "Look, I know you are anxious to test that machine. I know what it does. It shifts people's minds from one point in time to another, right?"
"Yes, but..."
"Please, Klato. Let the girl go..."
"How did you know my name?"
"You told me your name, or rather you will tell me."
Jenon Klato seemed confused at first. After a few moments, a look of understanding and shock showed on the alien's face. He knew that Crichton had been shifted through time, from the future. The startled scientist released Chiana, who ran to her crewmates and hid behind them.
"It works," said Klato. "It works. It works! IT WORKS! HA! HA! HA! HA! It works, it works, it works, it works..." he repeated over and over as he danced around the room.
John, Aeryn, D'Argo, and Chiana backed away from the apparently mad scientist. "What should we do?" asked Aeryn.
"Let's just get out of here," said Crichton.
The others nodded their agreement, leaving the scientist to dance around his machine.
********
Past:
Aeryn awakened on her bed and began to regain her faculties. She saw Zhaan hovering over her, checking her condition. The ex-Peacekeeper began to rise, but was eased back down by the Delvian healer.
"Ah, good. You are awake, my dear," said Zhaan.
"What happened?" asked Aeryn.
"You lost consciousness. I had D'Argo carry you in here until you recovered. How do you feel?"
"I will recover. What about the Marauder commandoes?"
"They are gone. Crichton and D'Argo succeeded in persuading them to leave. Of course, the heat was the primary factor in their withdrawal."
"Good. I will be fine, Zhaan. You can go now. Thank you."
"Very well, Aeryn. Comm me if you have any more problems."
The Delvian priestess glided out of the room, while Aeryn laid on her bed thinking about what had happened. She found it difficult to think, perhaps a side effect of the heat delirium. Aeryn decided to go to the terrace and think.
*********
Present:
John and Aeryn laid in bed, holding each other as John relayed to Aeryn what had happened to him. Aeryn still could not believe it.
"John, I have absolutely no memory of anything of what you said. Certainly no memory of going back in time."
"Of course you don't, baby. My time shift changed the future, prevented your time shift before it ever occurred. It never happened for you, so you wouldn't remember it."
"I still don't understand, but I'll take you word for it." Aeryn shifted in John's arms, and rested her head on his bare chest. She wrapped her arm around his midriff, while Crichton wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of Aeryn's head.
"Should we tell the others, John?"
"No reason to. I only told you because you're my lover. No secrets, remember."
"Um, yes. No secrets. Tell me, John. What was I like, the me that shifted from the past to the present."
"The same Aeryn I know and love, only different somehow. Less mileage, you could say. You've grown and changed, Aeryn. If I haven't told you lately, I'm proud of you."
Aeryn raised her head to John's and kissed him. He returned her kiss enthusiastically. They let their passions take over as they began to make love, a joining of two souls brought together by time and fate as one.
The End
By Ian K.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Yes-Season One and Two.
Disclaimer: I did not create Farscape, the universe of Farscape, or its characters. I merely borrowed them for this story, for which I will receive no monetary compensation. No infringement of copyright intended.
Time Frame: Can't go into detail. Starts in near future, but changes from there.
Summary: Aeryn is accidentally caught in an experiment gone wrong, and is shifted through time.
*
John and Aeryn could hear voices coming from within the room. Both stood at the ready, guns in hand, in preparation to kick in the door and rescue Chiana. D'Argo was just behind them in the hallway.
Once again, Chiana's tendency to "snurch" had gotten her into trouble. While on a commerce planet, the Nebari thief decided to follow a guy who she had seen with what looked like a fat currency bag hanging from his belt. The man was Sebacean in basic form, but his red skin coloration and green eyes told her that he was of a different species. She was not as much concerned about that as she was about seeing if she could steal his currency.
Eventually, the man turned into a side street, with Chiana following cautiously behind him. That was when everything went black for Chiana, who woke up to find herself in a strange laboratory with the man she was following standing over her. He intended to use her as a test subject in some experiment that he would only call temporal flux.
Meanwhile, John, Aeryn, and D'Argo had gotten worried when Chiana failed to show up after a while. They had Pilot locate her comm signal, which they used to track her to a basement type room in a small building. Now, the three stood ready to rescue their comrade from whatever trouble she was in now.
Aeryn looked at John and D'Argo. "Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three!"
Aeryn and John kicked in the door. They and D'Argo crashed into the lab with guns at the ready. Chiana's captor quickly hid behind the Nebari girl, who was strapped into some kind of machine.
John spoke first. "Okay, Dr. Jekyll! Let the girl go!"
"Not a chance. I need her to test the temporal flux, before I go in myself. Can't be too careful, after all. Quantum physics can be a tricky thing."
John considered for a moment, then a realization dawned on him. "Temporal flux...quantum physics, your talkin about time travel."
"Not time travel! Time shift would be a better term," replied the scientist. "And its mine. MINE!"
"I don't care what that machine does!" screamed D'Argo. "Let her go, or I will rip you apart!"
"NO!" replied the scientist. "You can have her when I am done! Not before!"
D'Argo had finally lost his patience, and took aim with his qualta blade rifle. Crichton saw him. "No, D'Argo, wait..."
Too late. D'Argo fired at Chiana's captor. The scientist had anticipated the shot, and was able to evade the blast. The shot struck the machine instead, which caused some kind energy surge to run through the machine.
"Frell!" shouted Aeryn. She and D'Argo immediately rushed to get Chiana out of the device. Aeryn untied Chiana's bonds, freeing the young Nebari and handing her over to D'Argo, while Crichton kept the scientist covered with his pistol. Just as Aeryn went to move away from the machine, and energy pulse from the machine grabbed Aeryn and enshrouded her in light.
"Aeryn!" screamed Crichton, as he rushed in to try and help his lover. D'Argo stopped him.
"No, John! You don't know what that machine will do to you."
"I have to help her, dammit! Let me go!"
Just then, the light released Aeryn, whose unconscious form fell to ground. John broke from D'Argo's now relaxed grip and rushed to her side.
Aeryn was unconscious. John checked her pulse and found that his love was alive, but her pulse was weak. "My God, Aeryn."
D'Argo activated his comm. "Zhaan, do you hear me. Get down here, quickly. Aeryn is hurt!"
**
Aeryn slowly opened her eyes, feeling slightly delirious. She took in her surroundings and found herself in her own bed in her quarters on Moya. Zhaan was sitting on a chair next to the bed, a small smile on her face upon seeing Aeryn awaken.
"Ah, good. You are awake, my dear," said Zhaan.
"What happened? How did I get here?"
"You lost consciousness. I had D'Argo carry you in here until you recovered. How do you feel?"
"Delirious, somehow. But, I'm starting to feel better. Where is John?"
"Who, Crichton? He is with D'Argo. Would you like to see him?"
"Yes, Zhaan, please."
"Very well." Zhaan activated her comm. "Crichton, can you come to Aeryn's quarters? She wants to see you."
"Um, yeah, sure. Be right there."
Zhaan deactivated her comm. "You should fully recover soon enough, Aeryn. Just give it time."
"What..." She stopped what she was going to say when Crichton entered the room. She smiled when she saw him. He smiled back, though rather cautiously, and spoke.
"Hi, Aeryn. How you feeling?"
"Come here," she said slyly. Crichton gave her a strange look, but slowly sat next to her on the bed. When he did, Aeryn brought his face close to hers. "You tell me, John." With that said, she kissed John passionately on the lips. Crichton seemed confused at the gesture and was slow to respond. Aeryn picked up on this and stopped the kiss. "John, what's the matter?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing, Aeryn?" he said out of breath.
Zhaan gave Aeryn a strange look. "Aeryn, are you feeling okay? Are you still delirious?"
"No, I don't think so. Why?"
John spoke next, rather nervously. "Well, Aeryn, its not everyday that you kiss me."
"What do you mean? I kiss you everyday. When we woke up in bed this morning..."
"Whoa, Aeryn, you must still be delirious. We did not wake up in...."
"John, what's going on?" asked Aeryn worriedly. "That machine. How is Chiana?"
Crichton looked at Zhaan. The Delvian shrugged her shoulders and replied. "Who is Chiana?"
"Who is..." said Aeryn, incredulously. "Chiana. Nebari thief. Gets herself into trouble. John calls her Pip. How can you not know Chiana?"
John spoke next. "Aeryn, I don't know this Chiana person either. Are you sure you're okay?" He looked at Zhaan. "Could it be a side effect of the heat delirium?"
"Wait," said Aeryn. "That machine caused me to go into heat delirium?"
"Aeryn, what machine?" replied Crichton. "Don't you remember? The Drakh, the big cock roaches. They took over the ship so the monarch could breed her offspring. They made it so hot..."
A look of confusion came over Aeryn's face. She looked at John and Zhaan. Its then that she noticed that Crichton was wearing his khaki pants and white t-shirt, clothing he had not worn in a long time. Zhaan seemed different as well. Aeryn then looked at her own attire. Instead of finding herself in her customary leather vest, she was wearing a black t-shirt and her Pleisar Uniform pants. She had not worn those in a cycle.
Aeryn was confused. "What is happening here?"she thought. She looked at John. "John, don't you remember the laboratory on the planet? Chiana was in the machine. D'Argo shot at her captor and missed and the machine..."
Crichton looked at her with confusion. Zhaan came over to Aeryn. "Perhaps you had better lie down..."
"NO! What is going on?" asked Aeryn desperately. "John, why are you in those clothes? Where is Chiana? Why are you talking about that incident with the Drakh? That happened over two cycles ago."
"No, Aeryn, it just happened a few hours, arns, ago," replied Crichton.
It was then that the realization of what really happened began to formulate in Aeryn's mind. In the laboratory, John and that scientist had been talking about something to do with... "Time travel," Aeryn whispered aloud to herself.
"What did you say?" asked Crichton with confusion.
Aeryn thought quickly. "John, tell me something. How long have we been aboard Moya?"
"What do you..."
"How long since you came through the wormhole, since we escaped from Crais?"
"I don't know, exactly. I'm still trying to get used to your time scale. Zhaan?"
"About a monen, Aeryn. Why?"
"A monen. That's not possible."
"What do you mean, Aeryn?" asked Crichton. "You said something about time travel."
"Yes. Look, you two may not believe me, but somehow...some way, I have traveled back in time. These events...coming aboard Moya, the Drakh, for me all happened over two cycles ago."
***
Crichton paced back and forth through the laboratory nervously while Zhaan examined Aeryn. He was scared. There was no telling what that machine had done to his lover. D'Argo was keeping an eye on the scientist, while Chiana stood nearby watching the whole proceedings. She approached John and spoke to him.
"Come on, take it easy..."
"Take it easy! Look, Chiana, she wouldn't be in this condition if it wasn't for you trying to pick pocket the mad doctor over there. So don't you dare tell me to 'take it easy'!"
"Look, I'm sorry..."
"Save it!" Crichton saw Zhaan motion Crichton over to the table where she was examining Aeryn. He left a stunned Chiana to get a progress report on Aeryn's condition.
"How is she, Zhaan?" he asked.
"Well, whatever was done, there seems to be no permanent damage. I want to do a more detailed examination when we get back to Moya, but I don't want to move her until she regains consciousness."
As if on cue, Aeryn did indeed begin to awaken. She opened her eyes and seemed to take in the scene around her. With a start, she sat bolt upright on the table and swung her legs off its side. Zhaan and John both moved to stop her from standing.
"Easy, Aeryn," said John soothingly. "Take it slowly."
"Where am I? What is this place?" she asked with agitation.
"Don't you remember, Aeryn?" replied Crichton. "The lab. You were caught in that machine...Aeryn. God, I thought you might have been hurt."
John leaned in to kiss Aeryn. She gave him a confused look, but soon realized what the human was trying to do. The ex-Peacekeeper reacted quickly, striking John across the jaw, knocking the startled human to the floor.
"What the frell do you think you are doing?!" said Aeryn with anger. "How dare you!"
John looked up at his lover, his lip bloodied and his mind filled with confusion and worry. "Aeryn, what is the matter with you?"
"I should be asking you that question. Where are we?" She looked around at the people who were in the room. "Who is that man on the floor, and that girl over there?"
The man was the scientist, the girl was Chiana. Zhaan looked at Chiana, then back at Aeryn with a startled look. "My dear, that's Chiana. You act as if you don't know her."
"I don't know who that girl is. Should I?"
D'Argo approached Aeryn. "She has only been aboard Moya for over a cycle. How could you not know her?"
"That's not possible, D'Argo," she replied with indignation. "I have only been aboard Moya for a monen."
Everyone looked at Aeryn with several degrees of shock on all of their faces. John was finally the one to speak. "What is the last thing you remember?"
"The Marauder commandoes were aboard Moya. You had that monarch creature turn up the heat on Moya to weaken them. Of course, it put me further into heat delirium."
"Wait, that is the last thing you remember?" asked Zhaan.
"Yes, of course. What else is there?"
"Aeryn," said John. "That happened two cycles ago."
Aeryn was startled, but laughed at the suggestion. "You are insane, human. That is not..."
"No he isn't, Aeryn," said D'Argo. "The encounter with the Drakh happened two cycles ago."
Chiana joined the conversation. "Zhaan, do you think that machine could have frelled up her brain or something?"
"I don't know. Its...possible."
Crichton stood completely still, running everything that had happened through his head. "Aeryn has no memory of the past two cycles," thought John. "She was caught in an energy surge in that machine. Dr. Jekyll over there mentioned something about...time shift."
It was then that Crichton realized what has happened to Aeryn. "Holy shit," he whispered.
The human marched over to the scientist tied up on the floor and yanked him to his feet. Holding him by the scruff of his collar, he said: "You said something about temporal flux, time shift. What is that machine supposed to do?"
"If you put me down, I will explain. Although your limited brains may not be able to comprehend the concept."
"Try me," replied Crichton, as he released the scientist.
The inventor began to speak. "My name is Jenon Klato. I have been working on my creation for 30 cycles. It is finally finished, and it appears to have worked."
"What does it do?" asked John impatiently.
"It has the capacity to bridge time periods, to allow for a person to shift from one time zone to another."
"You mean this Aeryn is actually from the past?" asked Zhaan.
"And our Aeryn is in the past?" chimed in D'Argo.
"Not exactly. You see, the bodies themselves can not be transferred. Rather, it is the life energy, the mind, that is shifted through time."
"You mean that the brain in this body is from the past?" asked Chiana.
"No, you little fool. Don't you even know the difference between the brain and the mind. The brain is an organic part of the body. The mind, girl. The mind is thought, memory, knowledge, all stored as energy. Biochemical in nature, yes, but still energy. This energy, like all energy, can be transferred."
"Yeah, we've been through that before," said John, remembering the incident with the Halosians and the mind swapping. "But how is it transferred through time?"
"This machine is able to tap into the temporal dimension of the universe. It opens a minute time warp in the fabric of time. It is just enough to allow for the transfer of energy. But it is only a warp of the temporal dimensions, not spatial dimensions."
"So that's why only the mind goes, not the body," said Crichton.
"Exactly."
"But why that particular point in time?" asked Crichton.
"Because the settings on the machine were set for temporal coordinates for a point in time exactly 2 cycles, 3 monens, and 8 solar days into the past."
"Why such an exact time?" continued Crichton.
"Personal reasons. It is not important. When the energy is transferred through time, it seeks out the brain host in that time period and switches minds with it, so to speak. It requires that the temporal coordinates be set for a point in time within the subject's lifetime, or the mind will have no host to go to and will become lost forever in time."
"Okay. So, how do we get her back?" asked John.
"I will have to examine the equipment to see the extent of the damage before I can answer. If I may be allowed to do so?"
Crichton nodded and allowed Jenon to get to work. John returned to the table where Aeryn was sitting and had been listening to the whole conversation. She did not understand it all, except the part about being in the future.
"Well," said John to Aeryn. "Looks like your return flight back to your time zone is gonna be delayed."
Aeryn just sat there, still shocked by the whole experience. The room went silent as they waited for Jenon to examine his machine.
****
Past:
"Aeryn, what you are saying does not make any sense," said Zhaan with concern. "You say that you have somehow traveled through time from the past. How is that possible?"
Aeryn looked at Crichton. "John, you know me. I'm no tech, but I did overhear a conversation between you...well, the you in the future, and the man who built the time machine. Something about quantum physics, temporal shift, time shift."
"Well," said Crichton after a few moments thought. "Quantum physics is the study of time travel. Temporal shift would refer to some kind of shift in the timeline. But Aeryn...I'm sorry, but that's crazy. You must be suffering some side effects from the heat delirium."
"I am not. Ugh, how do I prove to you..."A thought crossed her mind. She knew things that the Aeryn of this time did not know, things about the crew. That was the answer.
"Gather the crew in here," said Aeryn. "I will prove what I say."
Crichton and Zhaan looked at each other. Zhaan nodded her assent, and commed for D'Argo and Rygel. They both came in and were informed about Aeryn's claim to be from the future.
"You have gone completely fahrbot, Peacekeeper," said Rygel.
"Much as I hate to agree with HIS EMINENCE," said D'Argo sarcastically, " I think you are frelled in the head."
"All right, I'll prove it." She looked at Rygel. "Rygel, let's start with you. I know you were a prisoner on board the Zelbinion, and that you were tortured by Captain Durka."
Rygel was shocked at first, but laughed after a few moments. "Ha, nice try. You could have read that in some Peacekeeper record."
Aeryn looked at D'Argo. She hesitated, but went forward with what she was going to say. "D'Argo, I know about Lolann and Jothee."
D'Argo was startled, completely taken off guard at hearing Aeryn use his wife's and son's name. Shock changed to rage, and he lunged at Aeryn. Crichton and Zhaan were able to stop him gently, but he still raged with fury at Aeryn. "How dare you! How dare you use my wife and son!"
"I know all about it, D'Argo. I know how you were married to a Sebacean woman, how you conceived a son. I know about Macton, her brother, and what he did as well! That is not in any Peacekeeper file I would have access to. You will tell me about it. IN THE FUTURE!"
The entire room was shocked into silence. Zhaan looked at D'Argo, and hesitantly asked the question that was one everyone's mind. "D'Argo, is....is what she is saying...true?"
"Yes," said D'Argo rather softly. "There is no way she could have known. The Peacekeepers charged me with other crimes to cover up the truth. She is infantry. There is no way she could have known."
Aeryn then looked at Crichton. "John, I know many things about you. I know that you once wanted to marry a woman named Alex. I know that your mother died of a disease called cancer. I know that your father, before you left Earth, said to you that 'each of us has a chance to be our own kind of hero.' And that is just for starters."
Crichton looked at Aeryn and considered her words. There is know way that she could have known about those things, he has never told her about them. Yet. He looked into Aeryn's eyes and saw that she was telling him the truth. He became a believer.
"Holy..." said Crichton. "I believe her. Anyone else?"
D'Argo spoke first. "Yes."
"I still don't know," said Zhaan. "There could be a number of other explanations. But time travel? That is just so difficult to comprehend."
"I say your all fahrbot for even considering this," said Rygel. "I am going to get something to eat."
With that, the little Hynerian left the others in Aeryn's room. Aeryn was tired, emotionally drained. Plus, her physical body was still recovering from the heat delirium, so she was also physically drained. The crew left her to rest, and went to ponder the meaning on what had happened to the ex-Peacekeeper.
*****
Present:
"Don't you tell me that its not possible!" screamed Crichton.
"I'm afraid that it is true!" said Jenos Klato. "The time retrieval circuit is damaged. It was set to automatically shift the two minds after a one arn period. However, your frelling Luxan friend blasted the machine with his weapon. The retrieval setting has been lost. Without it, I can not retrieve your friend."
"There has to be a way!" said Crichton with frustration. "I refuse to accept that our Aeryn, my Aeryn, the Aeryn from this time is stuck in the past! We can't just give up. There has to be another way of getting Aeryn out of this bad episode of 'Quantum Leap' episode she had fallen into!"
"John, calm down..."said Chiana.
"To hell with you! If it hadn't been for you, Aeryn would not be in this mess!"
"John, recrimination is pointless at this point," said Zhaan.
"Well, I'm with Crichton," said Aeryn. "I refuse to accept that I have to stay here in the future. That would be like loosing two cycles of my life. I won't do that!"
"There has to be a way," said Crichton with frustration. "God, where is Al when you need him?"
"Who?" asked Aeryn.
"Never mind," replied Crichton.
*****
Past:
Aeryn stepped out of her quarters and decided to take a walk. As she made her ways through Moya's corridors, it finally sunk in with her completely the implications of what had happened.
"What if I am stuck here in the past?" she thought. "Will I have to relive the past two cycles over again? Can I change much of what has happened? Would I want to? I could change things so John doesn't even meet Scorpius, but...what else would that change? Ugh, this is more confusing than trying to figure out some of Crichton's Earth sayings."
She decided to go out to the terrace. As she stepped out onto the terrace, a strange thought came to her. "Funny, I ended up here before about this time. I wonder..."
As if on cue, John Crichton stepped onto the terrace, just as he did when Aeryn lived through this before. And the similarities did not end there.
"Hey," said John. "Didn't I meet you at a party once?"
Aeryn smiled, remembering the conversation they had before...when she lived this before. She decided to try and change where the conversation went from there. The ex-Peacekeeper turned and look at John Crichton, the man she loved in the future. In the past, well, their relationship was simpler in some ways, more difficult in others.
Crichton stared back at Aeryn for a few moments. He wanted to say something. Aeryn could tell, but the human hesitated. Finally, he decided to plunge forward into what he intended to say.
"Um, Aeryn. When I walked into your quarters, you...you...you..."
"Kissed you."
"Yes." The human shifted nervously as he thought of how to ask a very delicate question. "The Aeryn I know, the Aeryn of this time, would never have..."
"Yes, the Aeryn I was, am, whatever...the Aeryn you know would not have. But I am not that Aeryn," she said with a smile. "I am more, thanks to you."
"Well, that's...good. What about us? I mean, I gather that we are close in the future?"
Aeryn hesitated, but decided to be completely truthful. "Yes. You and I are...will be...lovers."
Crichton chuckled slightly. "Wow. If anyone had suggested that you...and I...I would have thought they were nuts. I mean, the hard nosed, kick ass Aeryn Sun and me, the deficient human. No way."
"Even at this time, I did not think it 100%, entirely, out of the question. Even at this point, I found you...interesting." Aeryn smiled at Crichton's reaction, as a slight blush filled his cheeks. She sighed for a moment as she saw him, the John Crichton she first met two cycles ago.
"Oh, John. I look at you now, and I see...John, there is a lot ahead for you. So many changes. Pain, grief, struggle. I look at you and I see the innocent John Crichton that disappeared so long ago."
"You make my future sound pretty bleak, Aeryn. Does Crais get me?"
"Not exactly. All I will say is that you have a long, hard path ahead. The only advice I can give you is to never give up, stay true to yourself. You will adapt. You always have done so. And, there is much happiness ahead for you. Friendship, achievement, and of course...love."
Crichton smiled at Aeryn, and raised his hand to her face. He lightly brushed her cheek with his hand, while she leaned into his palm with her cheek. "Aeryn, I can see how I could, definitely, love a woman like you. You are so beautiful."
They leaned in to kiss each other, but Crichton backed off. Aeryn was confused. "John, what's the matter?"
"You won't be kissing me. You would be kissing...him."
"Him...who?"
"Him. The Future Crichton. I'm just the ghost of Christmas past."
"He is you, John."
"No. He isn't me. He is a different me because he has two more years...cycles of life experience more than me. That 'long, hard path' you spoke about. I don't know how to return you to him, Aeryn. But hopefully you can return, and give him your love. Knowing him, I'm sure he would miss that love if he lost you."
With that, John Crichton turned on his heel and walked out of the terrace. Aeryn stood and gazed at his retreating form. "He is still John," she thought. "But he is a different John. I'm just the one who is the same. If I am stuck here, can we be more together...again?"
Aeryn Sun turned back towards the stars to ponder and dream of love lost...and possible love found.
******
Present:
John Crichton was sitting on the ground, staring in one direction. He was staring at the form of Aeryn Sun pacing up and down like a soldier on guard duty. She was frustrated, stuck 2 cycles into a future she knew nothing about. John could understand. After all, he was frustrated as well.
Looking at the Aeryn in front of him, he must constantly remind himself that she is not the same Aeryn he knows now, not the Aeryn who is his companion and lover. She is the Aeryn of two cycles ago: closed off, suspicious of everything, hard assed, never showing emotion. Yet, in some ways, this Aeryn, the one from the past, is somehow more vulnerable. The Aeryn he knows possesses the confidence of experience beyond the Peacekeeper ranks, and a personal identity all of her own making. This Aeryn has just lost the only life she ever knew. Now, she had seemed to loose the new life she was just beginning to carve out for herself.
Aeryn stopped pacing suddenly, and turned to face Crichton. "What the frell are you staring at?" asked Aeryn.
"Um, nothing. Sorry. Didn't mean to stare." Crichton got up and walked over to Aeryn. He knew this was not the same Aeryn, but she was still Aeryn Sun. John can't help but love and worry about her.
"How are you doing, Aeryn?"
"Fine, Crichton. Jenon Klato is still working. If he finds a way of getting me back, fine. If he doesn't, well...I will adapt."
"Just like that, adapt."
"Yes. I am a Peacekeeper. We can adapt better than any creature in the universe."
"Well, I don't know about Peacekeepers being able to adapt, but I do know that you sure can. But still...I can see you are frustrated. You have every right to be. Frell, you may have just lost two cycles of your life..."
"You don't know me, Crichton. You don't know what I am capable of."
"But I do know you, Aeryn. I've been shipmates with Aeryn Sun for two cycles, remember. I know quite a lot about you and what you are capable of."
Aeryn smiled a sarcastic smile. "I can have nothing to do with you, Crichton. You may think you know me, but...you can never understand me or my past."
Crichton considered for a moment what to do. He wanted to somehow get through to her that he did understand and that he did know her. He finally decided on one word.
"Velorek."
Aeryn looked at Crichton with pure shock. If she had been a slightly weaker person, she would have fainted. She tried to speak, but no sound escaped when she moved her lips. Finally, after several tries, she was able to utter one word.
"How?"
"It's a long story. Sufficed to say, you told me all about him and about how you felt about him. Don't you see. I DO know you, Aeryn Sun. Perhaps better than you know yourself."
"Crichton..." She hesitated to ask the question she wanted to, but decided she had to do it. She had to know. "Just how well do we know each other in this time?"
"Um, Aeryn..."
"Answer me."
"Aeryn, you and I are...lovers."
Aeryn smiled ever so slightly at the suggestion, the implication of what the human had just said. She didn't know exactly what to feel about this revelation from Crichton.
"Aeryn? You okay?" asked the concerned human.
"I let you get that close? I can't believe I will let you...I must truly be contaminated. To even consider giving myself to an alien man, no matter how Sebacean looking you are."
"Well, Aeryn. It was a slow process. We just slowly became closer and closer to each other. There were, um, setbacks...along the way. However, love conquers all, as they say." He concluded his words with a slight chuckle.
"Love," said Aeryn. "I don't even know that emotion."
"You will." John wanted to take Aeryn in his arms, to hold her and comfort her in her hour of confusion and struggle. But, Crichton knew that this Aeryn would never permit what his Aeryn would readily accept from him. Perhaps, in time...
"Crichton," said Jenon Klato. The voice of the alien scientist shook Crichton from his thoughts on Aeryn. John and Aeryn both looked at Klato and saw the defeated look on his face. "I'm sorry, but it is to no avail. The time retrieval circuitry itself can be repaired, but...we have lost the coordinates. They have been erased from the machine's memory. Without those, we would only be speculating about what time coordinates to make the retrieval from. We might end of shifting the mind of the Sebacean woman out of other time zones into wrong time zones...We just can not do it."
"Shifting to other time zones..."thought Crichton. An idea entered his head, one that he was surprised he hadn't thought of until then. "I have an idea," he said.
"I am willing to listen," said Jenon Klato.
"This is a time machine. Are the time shift circuits themselves still working?"
"Yes, they are undamaged. But..."
"Then shift me back in time to a point before the accident. I can go back and save Aeryn from the accident before it happens."
"That could do serious damage to the time line, Crichton. I don't know if we should..."
"Look, we have already shifted a woman from the present to the past, and vice versa. Aeryn may already be changing things in the past. This may be the only way to fix things. I would be the only one who would know what had happened if I stop the accident before it occurs. It will have never happened for the rest of you, or for the Aeryn from the past. Everything should return to normal."
D'Argo, Zhaan, and Chiana had all by now overheard Crichton's idea. They walked over and joined in on the conversation.
"John," said Zhaan. "What you are proposing involves considerable risk to you. You could become trapped in another time period as Aeryn is now."
"I have to do it, Zhaan," said Crichton, looking at Aeryn. "I have to try, for her."
Aeryn looked back at the human with deep emotion. She could not believe that he would risk all of that just for her. "Why would you do this, Crichton?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Because I love you."
Crichton leaned in and kissed Aeryn on the cheek. Much to Crichton's surprise, Aeryn did not pull away, but rather accepted the gesture. John then looked at Jenon Klato.
"Alright, I'm ready. What do we have to do?"
*******
Present:
"The machine is ready, Crichton," said Jenon Klato, as he finished making some final adjustments. "You may step in now."
"One microt," replied Crichton. He approached Chiana and put his arms on her shoulders. "Pip, um, I'm...sorry, very sorry for what I said to you."
"Hey, you were right, old man. If it wasn't for me..."
"Don't, Chiana. Its okay. Everything will be okay." Crichton turned and walked back to the machine. He stepped into the target zone for the time shift, and prepared himself for what was going to happen.
"Wish me luck, people," said Crichton.
"Good luck," said D'Argo.
"Goddess be with you," said Zhaan.
Crichton looked at Aeryn, who nodded a silent good luck to him. John returned the gesture, praying to God that this worked and that he would get his Aeryn back.
"Activating the time shift circuits, now," shouted Klato.
A bright light enveloped Crichton, just as it had done Aeryn when she shifted. From Crichton's perspective, he saw a bright flash of light that lasted momentarily. When began to get his bearings, he found himself standing between D'Argo and Aeryn, holding his pulse pistol.
"I don't care what that machine does!" screamed D'Argo. "Let her go, or I will rip you apart!"
"NO!" replied the scientist. "You can have her when I am done! Not before!"
It has worked. John was back at a point in time just before the accident. D'Argo was going to fire at any moment.
"D'Argo!" yelled Crichton. "Whatever you do, don't fire that gun."
The Luxan looked at Crichton with a strange expression. "How did you know..."
"Never mind. Just don't fire. Nobody fire. Trust me. Its...too dangerous. That machine is dangerous. No one fires!"
Aeryn and D'Argo looked at Crichton, then at each other. They nodded, and Aeryn said: "Alright, we won't fire. But what the frell..."
"I'll explain later," said Crichton. He turned his attention to the scientist now holding Chiana. "Look, I know you are anxious to test that machine. I know what it does. It shifts people's minds from one point in time to another, right?"
"Yes, but..."
"Please, Klato. Let the girl go..."
"How did you know my name?"
"You told me your name, or rather you will tell me."
Jenon Klato seemed confused at first. After a few moments, a look of understanding and shock showed on the alien's face. He knew that Crichton had been shifted through time, from the future. The startled scientist released Chiana, who ran to her crewmates and hid behind them.
"It works," said Klato. "It works. It works! IT WORKS! HA! HA! HA! HA! It works, it works, it works, it works..." he repeated over and over as he danced around the room.
John, Aeryn, D'Argo, and Chiana backed away from the apparently mad scientist. "What should we do?" asked Aeryn.
"Let's just get out of here," said Crichton.
The others nodded their agreement, leaving the scientist to dance around his machine.
********
Past:
Aeryn awakened on her bed and began to regain her faculties. She saw Zhaan hovering over her, checking her condition. The ex-Peacekeeper began to rise, but was eased back down by the Delvian healer.
"Ah, good. You are awake, my dear," said Zhaan.
"What happened?" asked Aeryn.
"You lost consciousness. I had D'Argo carry you in here until you recovered. How do you feel?"
"I will recover. What about the Marauder commandoes?"
"They are gone. Crichton and D'Argo succeeded in persuading them to leave. Of course, the heat was the primary factor in their withdrawal."
"Good. I will be fine, Zhaan. You can go now. Thank you."
"Very well, Aeryn. Comm me if you have any more problems."
The Delvian priestess glided out of the room, while Aeryn laid on her bed thinking about what had happened. She found it difficult to think, perhaps a side effect of the heat delirium. Aeryn decided to go to the terrace and think.
*********
Present:
John and Aeryn laid in bed, holding each other as John relayed to Aeryn what had happened to him. Aeryn still could not believe it.
"John, I have absolutely no memory of anything of what you said. Certainly no memory of going back in time."
"Of course you don't, baby. My time shift changed the future, prevented your time shift before it ever occurred. It never happened for you, so you wouldn't remember it."
"I still don't understand, but I'll take you word for it." Aeryn shifted in John's arms, and rested her head on his bare chest. She wrapped her arm around his midriff, while Crichton wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of Aeryn's head.
"Should we tell the others, John?"
"No reason to. I only told you because you're my lover. No secrets, remember."
"Um, yes. No secrets. Tell me, John. What was I like, the me that shifted from the past to the present."
"The same Aeryn I know and love, only different somehow. Less mileage, you could say. You've grown and changed, Aeryn. If I haven't told you lately, I'm proud of you."
Aeryn raised her head to John's and kissed him. He returned her kiss enthusiastically. They let their passions take over as they began to make love, a joining of two souls brought together by time and fate as one.
The End